Looking for the best green tea? You’ve come to the right place! We’re making a list of the best green tea according to taste, health benefits, price and more!
Let’s get started! 🏆
What makes it the best green tea
Any discussion about the best green tea can be contentious. After all, what is the best green tea? In our opinion, finding the best tasting green tea is the most important, but you also might be interested in finding which green tea is best in terms of health benefits.
For this reason, we have broken down this article based on different categories. We’ll start by talking about the best tasting green tea, and the we’ll look at the best green tea for health benefits, best green tea for beginners and more!
By the way, if you want to take a deep dive into green tea and see what makes it so special, you might want to read this article 👉 What is Green Tea? Demystifying the Magic Green Elixir
Best tasting green tea
When it comes to finding the best green tea, most people are looking for the best tasting green tea. This may seem subjective, but after working in the tea industry for many years, we can name the teas that people enjoy the most consistently.
If you want to become an expert on evaluating different flavors of green tea, we suggest you read this article 👉 What Does Green Tea Taste Like? Find Out in this Guide
Fukamushi Yamaga - Smooth and Fruity
The Sencha Shizuoka Yamaga no Sato is one of the best tasting green teas you can find.
This tea takes on a vibrant green color and a smooth, fruity flavor.
You may even get a hint of lychee berry when you drink this tea, especially when you prepare it as a cold brew.
Gyokuro Cha Musume - Bold and Savory
The Gyokuro Imperial Green Tea Cha Musume is one of the best Japanese green tea types because of its rich savory flavor.
This savory or “umami” flavor is something you might only be used to tasting in food, but you can find it in certain green teas that have a high theanine content.
The flavor of the Cha Musume is truly unique, and its one of the best tasting green tea types according to popular opinion.
If you prepare it properly, you can get notes of sweet corn, seaweed, edamame and much more!
Sencha Saemidori - Sweet and Rich
In terms of taste, the Henta Sencha Saemidori is one of the best Japanese green tea you can drink. It has a thick, almost syrupy texture to it and the flavor is incredibly sweet. What’s even better is that this tea costs a fraction of the price compared to others.
The secret has to do with the fact that the Sencha Saemidori comes from the saemidori cultivar, one of the best tasting green tea cultivars. It is known for having a very light and sweet taste profile with no bitterness.
Matcha Washimine - Smooth and Creamy
So we’ve talked a lot about loose leaf teas, but what is the best green tea if you are interested in matcha?
Based on popular opinion, the answer would be the Washimine Ceremonial Matcha Tea! When people drink matcha, what they are mostly looking for is a smooth, consistent taste profile with very little bitterness.
The matcha washimine delivers on this. Because it is made from the Okumidori cultivar, the taste is super smooth and creamy, almost like a glass of milk.
Best Green Tea for Beginners
If you’re looking for a best green tea for beginners, you likely have a different set of calculations to make. You are of course looking for the best tasting green tea, but also one that is affordable and easy to prepare. Here are a few of our picks for the best loose leaf green tea for beginners.
Genmaicha
When people ask what is the best green tea for beginners, our first answer is usually genmaicha. It really checks all the boxes. The tea is inexpensive, its easy to prepare and it has a flavor most people like the first time they try it.
This tea is made by mixing toasted rice with tea leaves. This lowers the caffeine content and adds a pleasant nutty or cereal flavor to the tea.
If you want to learn more about genmaicha, we recommend you check out our complete guide 👉 Essential Genmaicha Guide by Japanese Tea Experts
Hojicha
Just like with genmaicha, this tea is also easy to prepare. Because it tends to be made from older tea leaves, it is less sensitive to brewing, so if you accidentally brew it too hot or for too long, it will still taste good!
Hojicha is a fascinating tea and there is way more to it than we can cover in this article. If you want to become an expert on it, we suggest you read up here 👉 Everything You Need to Know About Hojicha
What is the best green tea in terms of health?
Of course we’re not all searching for the best tasting green tea. Some of us are also interested in find what the best green tea is in terms of health benefits. For that, there are three that come to mind.
Matcha
Overall, matcha powder is the best green tea when it comes to health benefits. The simple reason why has to do with how the tea is prepared. While most teas are infused into water, matcha is ground into a powder and mixed directly into water.
This means you are consuming the entire leaf, along with all of its health benefits. Matcha has a much higher concentration of caffeine, theanine, catechins and polyphenols per sip than any other tea, making it our best green tea in terms of health.
If you want the full list of matcha health benefits, you can find it here 👉 What do Scientists say about Matcha Benefits? Find Out Here
Gyokuro
Matcha is great, but what’s the best loose leaf green tea for health? That would probably be gyokuro. Gyokuro is almost the loose leaf counterpart of matcha. It’s made from young, shaded green tea leaves that are rich in caffeine and theanine.
Instead of being ground into a powder, they are tightly rolled into these needle shapes. Because gyokuro has a high content of caffeine and theanine, it can give you a longer lasting calm energy that lasts throughout the day.
If you want the full list of matcha health benefits, you can find it here 👉 Learn More about the Gyokuro Tea Benefits
Bancha
It seems that all the top teas are high in caffeine, so what’s the best Japanese green tea that’s low in caffeine? That would have to be bancha tea. Bancha is made from the older leaves of the tea plant.
These older leaves are lower in caffeine and higher in minerals. Bancha can help to soothe an upset stomach, and its commonly drunk after a meal. If you are sensitive to caffeine, this is probably one of the best green tea types to drink.
Best green tea to drink before bed
A lot of people like to enjoy a nice warm cup of tea as a part of their evening ritual, so which green tea is best to drink before bed?
Kukicha
Kukicha is the best green tea to drink in the late afternoon and evening time.
Because it is made using the stems of the tea plant, it is lower in caffeine and higher in minerals.
Not only will it not keep you up all night, but it has has a very pleasant straw flavor profile to it, which makes it a wonderful way to cap off the evening.
Bancha
Bancha is a tea we mentioned previously, but it is also the best green tea to drink in the evening. Like kukicha, it is also low in caffeine and high in minerals, but the tea has a completely different flavor profile.
The older tea leaves produce a slightly earthier taste profile, with a hint of wood and citrus. It’s a delicious treat to enjoy after dinner as a nice way to settle the stomach before bed.
If you want to find out which teas are lowest in caffeine, we have a great guide here 👉 8 Lowest Caffeine Tea: from Lowest to Highest
Which green tea is best for energy?
So now that we’ve talked about the best green tea to drink before bed, let’s take a complete 180 and answer which green tea is best to drink in the morning to really wake you up. For this, we’re really looking for the highest caffeine content.
Gyokuro
Gyokuro is the best loose leaf green tea to drink for energy. One serving of gyokuro can have between 120-140mg of caffeine. The good part is, gyokuro is also very high in l-theanine which can buffer some of the negative side effects that come from too much caffeine.
This means that you won’t get the same crash or jitters with gyokuro as you would with coffee. This make gyokuro not only the best green tea for energy, but the best thing to drink period!
Matcha
Matcha is the best japanese green tea for energy, and the best green tea for energy overall. It contains 36mg of caffeine per gram, which doesn’t sound like much but a typical 8 ounce cup can contain 4 grams of matcha so already you have way more caffeine than a cup of coffee.
Even more interesting is the fact that you can raise the level of caffeine in your drink by simply making it with more powder. Matcha is a great way to start the day and it can even be used as an effective pre-workout drink!
Best organic green tea farmers
All of our best green tea varieties are produced without the use of pesticides or chemicals. After traveling around Japan, we have found that these pesticide free methods not only produce the best teas, but also the best ecosystem for plant and animal species.
Here are a few of the best organic green tea farmers we have had the privilege of working with, along with some of their best organic green tea types.
Mr. Sakamoto
Mr. Sakamoto is the best organic green tea farmer when it comes to producing gyokuro. Because gyokuro needs to be shaded for 3 weeks before the harvest, it is incredibly difficult to produce without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
Mr. Sakamoto was able to develop his own organic fertilizer and produce deliciously flavorful gyokuro teas like the cha meijin, without the use of pesticides or chemicals Gyokuro is one of the best Japanese green tea types, so it is only fitting that it is grown by one of the best organic green tea farmers.
Mr. Henta
What makes Mr. Henta one of the best organic green tea farmers is his extensive knowledge of green tea cultivars. These green tea varieties all prefer slightly different growing conditions and yield different flavor profiles.
Mr. Henta is able to not only cultivate 8 different varieties of tea plants on a small plot of land, but he is able to carefully mix them into different tea blends.
The Sencha Henta Kirishima Tea is one of our best green tea blends because it contains the best elements of 8 different tea cultivars, all carefully crafted by Mr. Henta Himself.
Mr. Issin
Mr. Issin is the best organic green tea farmer when it comes to creating roasted green teas. If your a fan of both sencha and hojicha, his signature Kamairicha green tea issin is the best green tea you can find.
It is pan-fired up in the mountains of Takachiho, and because it is only partially roasted, the flavor is somewhere in between a sencha and a hojicha.
Although it is a traditional Japanese tea, it takes on a flavor like that of a Chinese green tea, with notes of cashew and caramel.
Best green tea - the Final Verdict
If you are looking for our best green tea, you have a lot to choose from. Whether you want to find the best green tea for health benefits, the best tasting green tea or the best green tea to drink before bed, chances are you can find it at nioteas.com.
We’ve traveled all around Japan meeting with farmers and tea masters in search of the very best Japanese green tea. After sampling hundreds of different kinds, we’ve put all of our favorites into one place for you to enjoy.
I hope you found this article helpful and I hope you’re abe to sample some of our teas in the near future!
